Mega Man X3
Mega Man X3 (ロックマンX3, Rockman X3) released in 1995, is the fourth game in the Mega Man X series and was the last to appear on the SNES. Like its predecessor, Mega Man X2, Capcom included the Cx4 chip to allow for some limited 3D graphics and transparency effects. Mega Man X3 was the first game in which Zero is a playable character, in addition to X. This would be the final game for Tokuro Fujiwara, who had been with the Classic and X'' series since the beginning. Art duties were split between Tatsuya Yoshikawa, Hayato Kaji, Shinsuke Komaki and Keiji Inafune. The game was re-released on January 10, 2006 as part of the ''Mega Man X Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. Gameplay Characters * Mega Man X * Zero * Sigma * Vile * Dr. Cain * Auto - (cameo) * Dr. Doppler - One of the main antagonists of the game. He claimed to have created a vaccine to the Maverick virus, which turned out to be a placebo. Thanks to Dr. Doppler's "vaccine", more Mavericks were created. Doppler then became the leader of his own Army, comprised of the most powerful Mavericks the world had ever seen. Later, it is revealed that Sigma took control of Doppler, and forced him to create a new body for him. He also rebuilt Vile, and hired Bit and Byte to destroy X and Zero. *'Mac' - is the sub-boss of the opening stage of the game. * Bit - throws a ring-like trapping projectile which bounces across the room X battles him in, and also has an energy saber. * Byte - mainly attacks by throwing his hands and moving toward the launched hand. If he and/or Bit are still active by the time Dr. Doppler's lab is open, the player will face their combined form, Godkarmachine O Inary. *'Blast Hornet' - was second in command of Zero's #0 Class Unit, and known for his skill of judgment when DopplerTown was formed. Since Zero was in training, Hornet went there instead, and was corrupted by the virus when it ran rampant across the city. He was destroyed as a Maverick along with all of the others in DopplerTown. *'Blizzard Buffalo' - was an artist and a service Reploid for a ski resort when he was corrupted in DopplerTown. His skills with his hands continued, though, but were put to use as a Maverick. He was destroyed as such. *'Crush Crawfish' - was a Reploid made for combat, but he couldn't distinguish between enemies and friendly units, so he was sealed away. When the Mavericks took over DopplerTown, someone set him free, and he waited in the shipyard to destroy anyone that approached. He was destroyed as a Maverick. *'Gravity Beetle' - was the older brother of Boomer Kuwanger and belonged to the 17th Unit. When Boomerang was destroyed by X, he held a long grudge against him, and was amongst the Mavericks destroyed by X during the virus outbreak in DopplerTown. *'Neon Tiger' - was a poacher hunter assigned to protect the few natural forests left. When DopplerTown became overrun with the virus, he was possessed as well, and took refuge in the jungle. Reappears in Mega Man Xtreme 2. *'Toxic Seahorse' - was a mysterious Maverick made of a liquid metal that allowed him to shape to his surroundings. He took control of a dam and used it to threaten the nearby communities. *'Tunnel Rhino' - was a hard-working miner of energen crystals until the virus took hold of him. Reappears in Mega Man Xtreme 2. *'Volt Catfish' - was a kind and playful spirit who was created to be a mobile power-plant for emergency energy situations. When the virus took over his system, he changed completely and looked forward to fights. Reappears in Mega Man Xtreme 2. *'Godkarmachine O Inary' - was the result of a fusion between Bit and Byte into a single large battle mecha. It incorporated a hovering ability, twin sabers and launchable fists for precision attacking. It was destroyed by X, when he and Zero infiltrated Doppler's lab. Story The story of Mega Man X3 revolves around a Reploid scientist named Dr. Doppler. In the year 21XX, the threat of the Mavericks had been neutralized thanks to Doppler's technology, which prevented the Mavericks from going berserk. The reformed Reploids had formed a utopia near their new mentor called DopplerTown. It seemed that all was well, until the former Maverick Reploids suddenly reverted and once again began causing trouble. Dr. Doppler was held accountable, and X and Zero were sent out to contain the new threat. They were soon after called back to Maverick HQ, which was under attack by Doppler's forces. Credits As with the series' previous entry, the game lacks a credits sequence for the game's staff and instead features a "cast roll" for the game's characters, enemies and bosses. The remake of the game for fifth generation consoles would follow this trend. The official soundtrack release for Mega Man X through X6, however, revealed that five entities were involved with X3 as a whole: Minakuchi Engineering, Toshihiko Horiyama, Shusaku Uchiyama, Yoshino Aoki and Makoto Tomozawa. As revealed in a SEMO interview (and supported by her official website), composition of the original SNES version was handled by Kinuyo Yamashita of Castlevania fame, who revealed that she was contracted by Capcom through Minakuchi Engineering (she was a freelancer at the time) to compose for the title. Information is similarly scarce for the arrange version, though some information on its soundtrack is known: *SEMO's interview with Aoki revealed that she only arranged tracks from the original soundtrack. *Horiyama's style is most prominent in Electro Namazuros' (Volt Catfish's) BGM, as it greatly resembles "Opening Stage X" from Mega Man X4. The preceding cutscene (as well as that for Explose Horneck (Blast Hornet)) is also akin to the style Horiyama used for tracks found in X4. *Uchiyama's approach to animated cutscenes in Mega Man 8 appears to be similar to those heard preceding the stages for some of the eight main bosses, especially for Shining Tigerd (Neon Tiger). Screw Masaider's (Tunnel Rhino's) cutscene and stage BGM are also in Uchiyama's style and share the same sound. *An interview comprised of Twitter feeds from Tomozawa reveal him to be the composer of "Megaman X3 Opening Theme" for the overseas version of the title. He can also be pinned to "Megaman X3 Ending Theme," the other overseas theme, given its unmistakable similarities to the beginning of Resident Evil's overseas staff roll theme, "Still Dawn" as well as the abundance of themes that utilize the former's arrangement type in Tomozawa's next title, Mega Man Legends. Trivia *Shining Tigerd (aka Neon Tiger's) stage theme bears an uncanny resemblance to "My Michelle" by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. This would not be the only time the band was referenced in the series, though. Gallery Image:MMX3_Dr_Doppler.png|''Dr. Doppler'' Image:MMX3_Mac.png|''Mac'' Image:MMX3_Bit.png|''Bit'' Image:MMX3Byte.png|''Byte'' Image:MMX3_Blast_Hornet.png|''Blast Hornet'' Image:MMX3_Blizzard_Buffalo.png|''Blizzard Buffalo'' Image:MMX3_Crush_Crawfish.png|''Crush Crawfish'' Image:MMX3_Toxic_Seahorse.png|''Toxic Seahorse'' Image:MMX3_Tunnel_Rhino.png|''Tunnel Rhino'' Image:MMX3_Volt_Catfish.png|''Volt Catfish'' Image:MMX3GodkarmachineOInary.png|''Godkarmachine O Inary'' Box Art Image:MMX3Japan.png|''Japan'' Image:MMX3CoverScan.png|''U.S.'' Image:MMX3_Europe.png|''Europe'' Merchandise and Advertisements Image:MMX3Manga1.png|''Manga Vol. 1'' Image:MMX3Manga2.png|''Manga Vol. 2'' Image:MMX3Manga3.png|''Manga Vol. 3'' Image:MMX3Manga4.png|''Manga Vol. 4'' Image:MMX3Guidebook.png|Tokuma Guidebook Image:MMX3Ad.png|''U.S.'' Ad External Links *Wikipedia article *''Mega Man Knowledge Base'' article *Sega Retro article Category:Games Category:Mega Man Games Category:Mega Man X Games Category:Science Fiction Games Category:Platform Games Category:Action Games Category:SNES Games Category:Saturn Games Category:PlayStation Games Category:PC Games Category:PlayStation 2 Games Category:GameCube Games Category:1995 video games